Former South Bay standouts have USC women's volleyball team in NCAA semifinals

There might be snow on the ground outside the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., but warm sand is never far from the thoughts of Kendall Bateman.

But first things first for Bateman and USC: the hardcourt in the NCAA Final Four that opens this evening, with the Trojans taking on Pac-10 rival California in the semifinals.

Bateman, a 5-foot-11 setter, is a junior for the Trojans, who might be overachieving with a young squad that relies heavily on three freshmen and a sophomore.

They might be getting their baptism by fire, but that's been ingrained in Bateman since her days of growing up in Manhattan Beach and then playing for Mira Costa High.

"I think coming to USC, there is a huge tradition of athletic excellence and it was pretty similar at Mira Costa with the legacy of teams before us," Bateman said Wednesday. "You kind of transfer into such a competitive atmosphere and know you have the history of teams before you so it's so exciting to be here."

USC (29-4) was edged out by Cal (29-3) for the Pac-10 title even though the Trojans defeated the Golden Bears in their two conference meetings. This is the first time the teams have met in the NCAA Tournament.

She is only one of four South Bay players representing the Trojans, joining All-America hitter Alex Jupiter (Redondo), freshman hitter Sam Hirschmann (Manhattan Beach, Marymount High) and freshman hitter Falyn Fonoimoana (Mira Costa), the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.

Coach Mick Haley never had to go far from his Hermosa Beach home to see many of the current stars learning their craft.

"I envisioned what they are doing now. I thought they were going to be really good," Haley said. "If you walk down The Strand and look out there on the sand courts, you can see the type of talent out there. We have already played against six to eight kids already that we saw on the sand, walking down there, including the kids on our team.

"It's a volleyball Mecca when you see those kids competing against each other and for each other out there on the beach and then when they come indoors, you expect the same kind of effort and level. They keep raising the level. It's pretty phenomenal. Hopefully, you would like to see all of those kids come back one day and say we did this."

Which makes it a natural step for the likes of Bateman, who someday could join former USC stars Jen Kessy and April Ross on the beach.

Of course, she'd first like to match Ross' two NCAA championships with the Trojans, but Bateman certainly has the pedigree.

"Living in Manhattan Beach is like a lifestyle for volleyball," Bateman said. "It's growing up with it around you. You grow up loving the game. It's such a great experience to be here and play volleyball because you have been growing up with it since you have been a kid."

USC will face Cal in the evening's second match after Texas (27-5) takes on Penn State (30-5) in the other semifinal. The winners will meet on Saturday at 5:30p.m. to decide the national championship.

Even with its wins over Cal earlier in the season, USC might be the most unlikely team to reach the Final Four with its young contingent.

Fonoimoana is the most visible of the youngsters. She earned Dayton Regional MVP honors after her season-best 25-kill performance in a five-game win over Stanford that sent the Trojans to Kansas City.

Middle blocker Alexis Olgard and libero Natalie Hagglund are the other key freshmen and sophomore Katie Fuller holds down the fort opposite Bateman in the rotation.

The mix of youth has learned to settle in perfectly for the Trojans.

"We don't really look at them as freshmen now," Bateman said. "They've grown up so much since the moment they got here and they prepared themselves before they got here during the summer.

"I think that our freshmen group of girls and our sophomores have done a great job to prepare themselves for this level of play. They've matured so much to this point. They're just some awesome athletes that really love the game and are so motivated to get better. We're really lucky to have them."